Lakewood
Bike Cleveland has teamed up with the Cuyahoga County Department of Sustainability to secure 250 bikes for a bike sharing program in time for the Republican National Convention next July. The move is part of a larger countywide initiative.
"Over five years we need 700 bikes in 70 stations," explains Mike Foley, executive director of Cuyahoga County's Department of Sustainability.
In order to get started on that tall order, last month the team identified CycleHop-SoBi as the preferred vendor for the new bike share system. Negotiations are ongoing, although Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) awarded the county $357,000 in federal funding to bring the plan to fruition. With 20 percent in matching funds, the group has $446,000 available to purchase the bikes.
"The federal government requires us to own these things at least for their usable life," explains Foley, "which is deemed five years." The program in its entirety will cost more, he adds, and will depend on a private-public partnership that relies on business and other private sponsors adopting stations and systems. Downtown will be the initial focus area for the first wave of bike stations.
The CycleHop-SoBi brand is a collaboration of two entities.
"CycleHop operates the system,"explains Foley. "SoBi manufactures the bikes," which he describes as sturdy and equipped with GPS systems. "Heaven forbid a bike is stolen or not returned," he says, "they'll be able to find it. It also helps figure out routes. They call it a smart bike. We were impressed with technology."
The bikes can also be locked anywhere.
"You don't have to go to a SoBi bike station," says Foley. "You can lock it up at regular bike stop and go get your coffee."
The versatility doesn't stop there. Although still tentative, Foley sees the program having flexible membership options, with yearly, monthly and weekly fee structures available, as well as an hourly rental system for one-time users.
As the program expands to reach that 700 number, Foley sees it reaching across the county.
"There are suburban communities that I know are interested in this. Cleveland Heights is chomping at the bit to be part of it," he says, adding that Lakewood has also expressed interest.
"We want this to be larger than just the city of Cleveland."
"Over five years we need 700 bikes in 70 stations," explains Mike Foley, executive director of Cuyahoga County's Department of Sustainability.
In order to get started on that tall order, last month the team identified CycleHop-SoBi as the preferred vendor for the new bike share system. Negotiations are ongoing, although Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) awarded the county $357,000 in federal funding to bring the plan to fruition. With 20 percent in matching funds, the group has $446,000 available to purchase the bikes.
"The federal government requires us to own these things at least for their usable life," explains Foley, "which is deemed five years." The program in its entirety will cost more, he adds, and will depend on a private-public partnership that relies on business and other private sponsors adopting stations and systems. Downtown will be the initial focus area for the first wave of bike stations.
The CycleHop-SoBi brand is a collaboration of two entities.
"CycleHop operates the system,"explains Foley. "SoBi manufactures the bikes," which he describes as sturdy and equipped with GPS systems. "Heaven forbid a bike is stolen or not returned," he says, "they'll be able to find it. It also helps figure out routes. They call it a smart bike. We were impressed with technology."
The bikes can also be locked anywhere.
"You don't have to go to a SoBi bike station," says Foley. "You can lock it up at regular bike stop and go get your coffee."
The versatility doesn't stop there. Although still tentative, Foley sees the program having flexible membership options, with yearly, monthly and weekly fee structures available, as well as an hourly rental system for one-time users.
As the program expands to reach that 700 number, Foley sees it reaching across the county.
"There are suburban communities that I know are interested in this. Cleveland Heights is chomping at the bit to be part of it," he says, adding that Lakewood has also expressed interest.
"We want this to be larger than just the city of Cleveland."
As much as she likes to show off her ceramics, artist Gina DeSantis wanted a new way to highlight the works she creates in her studio at the Screw Factory in Lakewood. “I hate showing my work in galleries,” she declares. “It just sits on a white pedestal and it’s like, ‘oh look, a mug.’”
Then DeSantis started thinking about the whole farm-to-table movement, and the practice of sourcing food locally. She thought, why can’t that practice apply to the plates people use to eat their local food?
So DeSantis contacted her friend Jillian Davis, owner of Toast restaurant, about a showing her work in the restaurant. Davis loved the idea, and with that Kiln to Table: An evening of fine craft and fine dining was born.
DeSantis designed 50 three-piece place settings – a salad plate, a dinner plate and a soup bowl – for the restaurant. Diners have the option to buy their place settings after dinner (the setting will be cleaned and packed up for pick up on Friday). Of course, guests are not obligated to buy their settings.
"I came up with rustic, simple dinnerware for Toast,” DeSantis says. “It accentuates the food and doesn’t distract from it.”
Kiln to Table is a one-night exhibit. But DeSantis would like to see restaurant shows become a regular thing. “It’s one night only, but hopefully it will be more,” she says. “I might get other artists involved and we’ll hop around the city. “
DeSantis adds that she wants to continue the trend of buying locally. “There’s this frenzy for everything local,” she says. “We’re growing and sourcing everything locally and then throw it on a 50-cent Ikea plate.”
She encourages people to take the trend a step further and buy their dinnerware locally as well. We’re so concerned about sourcing everything local, but we get from A to Y,” DeSantis explains. “It may be more costly, but if you’re really concerned about sourcing local, it’s worth it.”
Kiln to Table is scheduled for Thursday, November 5 from 4:30 pm to 11 pm. Reservations are recommended.
Then DeSantis started thinking about the whole farm-to-table movement, and the practice of sourcing food locally. She thought, why can’t that practice apply to the plates people use to eat their local food?
So DeSantis contacted her friend Jillian Davis, owner of Toast restaurant, about a showing her work in the restaurant. Davis loved the idea, and with that Kiln to Table: An evening of fine craft and fine dining was born.
DeSantis designed 50 three-piece place settings – a salad plate, a dinner plate and a soup bowl – for the restaurant. Diners have the option to buy their place settings after dinner (the setting will be cleaned and packed up for pick up on Friday). Of course, guests are not obligated to buy their settings.
"I came up with rustic, simple dinnerware for Toast,” DeSantis says. “It accentuates the food and doesn’t distract from it.”
Kiln to Table is a one-night exhibit. But DeSantis would like to see restaurant shows become a regular thing. “It’s one night only, but hopefully it will be more,” she says. “I might get other artists involved and we’ll hop around the city. “
DeSantis adds that she wants to continue the trend of buying locally. “There’s this frenzy for everything local,” she says. “We’re growing and sourcing everything locally and then throw it on a 50-cent Ikea plate.”
She encourages people to take the trend a step further and buy their dinnerware locally as well. We’re so concerned about sourcing everything local, but we get from A to Y,” DeSantis explains. “It may be more costly, but if you’re really concerned about sourcing local, it’s worth it.”
Kiln to Table is scheduled for Thursday, November 5 from 4:30 pm to 11 pm. Reservations are recommended.
The Cuyahoga River's watershed extends south to Stark County. While the infamous fire of 1969 has faded, the river is still troubled, but efforts both natural and beautiful are underway to turn the tide.
Marking its 90th birthday, the Cleveland Public Library consistently ranks as one of the top rated libraries in the nation as a place that is both innovative and inviting.
Patrick Siegel has lived all over the country, the last 10 years in Minneapolis honing is trade as a tobacconist – hand-blending pipe tobacco.
Although he is originally from Chicago, when Siegel saw Lakewood on a recent visit to his fiance’s home town of Rocky River, he knew Lakewood was the place to open his own shop.
“It just seemed to click,” he recalls. “I love Lakewood, it’s just fun. I love the fact that it’s a walking community.”
So in May, Siegel opened Robusto & Briar, what he describes as the “perfect cigar shop and lounge,” The shop sells premium cigars, house blends of pipe tobacco and accessories in a refurbished 3,000 square-foot storefront at 1388 Riverside Drive.
Before Siegel could open for business, however, he had to rehab the former software company space all the way down to the floor. “We had to cut the whole place down to the studs and re-do it,” he says. “It was a hazard to the public.”
Siegel rebuilt the space using locally-sourced reclaimed and recycled wood, including the floors, barn doors made of alder and an 1880 back bar made of wormy chestnut that he scored from one of the oldest cigar distributors in Ohio.
Rather than use smoke eaters, which cause air pollution while clearing the room of tobacco smoke, Siegel opted for an environmentally-friendly air-to-air heat exchanger to clear the smoke inside.
The walls are adorned with pipe and cigar art “We have the obligatory picture of Winston Churchill, French impressionists and plenty of guys smoking cigars,” Siegel says. Two lounges feature high definition televisions and customers can relax in plenty of leather chairs and couches while enjoying their purchases. Siegel is in the midst of building some private meeting spaces in the lounge.
The biggest feature is a 360 square-foot walk in humidor made of Spanish cedar – one of the largest humidors in the state. “It’s the elephant in the room,” Siegel jokes. “We built the whole thing around it.”
Siegel has found backing for his shop from some unlikely people. “Even the non-cigar smokers have been supportive,” he says. “They say, ‘oh, I’m going to go find my friend who does smoke cigars.’ The decision to be here in this town was good.”
Right now Siegel has one employee and his fiancé, Nicole, helps out at Robusto & Briar.
Although he is originally from Chicago, when Siegel saw Lakewood on a recent visit to his fiance’s home town of Rocky River, he knew Lakewood was the place to open his own shop.
“It just seemed to click,” he recalls. “I love Lakewood, it’s just fun. I love the fact that it’s a walking community.”
So in May, Siegel opened Robusto & Briar, what he describes as the “perfect cigar shop and lounge,” The shop sells premium cigars, house blends of pipe tobacco and accessories in a refurbished 3,000 square-foot storefront at 1388 Riverside Drive.
Before Siegel could open for business, however, he had to rehab the former software company space all the way down to the floor. “We had to cut the whole place down to the studs and re-do it,” he says. “It was a hazard to the public.”
Siegel rebuilt the space using locally-sourced reclaimed and recycled wood, including the floors, barn doors made of alder and an 1880 back bar made of wormy chestnut that he scored from one of the oldest cigar distributors in Ohio.
Rather than use smoke eaters, which cause air pollution while clearing the room of tobacco smoke, Siegel opted for an environmentally-friendly air-to-air heat exchanger to clear the smoke inside.
The walls are adorned with pipe and cigar art “We have the obligatory picture of Winston Churchill, French impressionists and plenty of guys smoking cigars,” Siegel says. Two lounges feature high definition televisions and customers can relax in plenty of leather chairs and couches while enjoying their purchases. Siegel is in the midst of building some private meeting spaces in the lounge.
The biggest feature is a 360 square-foot walk in humidor made of Spanish cedar – one of the largest humidors in the state. “It’s the elephant in the room,” Siegel jokes. “We built the whole thing around it.”
Siegel has found backing for his shop from some unlikely people. “Even the non-cigar smokers have been supportive,” he says. “They say, ‘oh, I’m going to go find my friend who does smoke cigars.’ The decision to be here in this town was good.”
Right now Siegel has one employee and his fiancé, Nicole, helps out at Robusto & Briar.
An upcoming Global Cleveland event will encourage area companies to share best practices in hiring foreign-born brainpower.
The September events will celebrate the contributions of immigrants and entrepreneurs to their communities.
An obstacle course amid the treetops, miles of mountain bike trail and a mysterious 130-year-old rock? We've got that and then some: Fresh Water Cleveland has rounded up ten of the Metroparks' best hidden gems, quirky trails and thrilling courses.
It's no secret that vinyl sales are on the rise across the country, fueled by disenchantment with digital listening. Cleveland is a vinyl hotbed, boasting an impressive 11 record stores.
Northeast Ohio has three organizations dedicated to getting fresh produce and sustainably-grown goods to consumers through online ordering.
This holiday weekend, go on a hot date to Mahall's for music, food and cocktails, visit Platform Brewing in celebration of their first anniversary, enjoy reggae by Carlos Jones at the kickoff of Lakewood’s porch concert series and more.
Five local filmmakers unveil documentaries on refugees in Cleveland
Ohio is one of the top 10 states in the country that takes refugees – people who have fled their native countries for fear of persecution for race, religion, nationality, being part of a social group or political beliefs – and Cleveland is second in the state for helping these people call the area home.
From 2000-2012, 4,518 refugees resettled in Cleveland, according to a report prepared in 2012 for the Refugee Services Collaborative (RSC). And the number is growing. So, to celebrate and educate the Cleveland community on the city’s refugee population, five local filmmakers produced short documentary films about refugee life before and after Cleveland.
Those films were shown for the first time on Saturday, June 20 at the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood. About 120 community leaders, advocates, refugees, business owners and volunteers gathered to watch the films, as some of the filmmakers introduced them.
“It’s going represent a broad swatch of who the refugees are, the different ethnicities and nationalities they represent, and what’s changed after they got to Cleveland,” explains Tom Mrosko, director of Cleveland Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services. “The RSC tried to invite people who aren’t as familiar with the Collaborative or people coming to the community.”
The films are meant to educate people on the 70,000 refugees who resettle in the United States each year. “They come to almost every state in the country and they want to fit in and they want to better themselves,” says Mrosko. “It really comes down to lack of understanding of who refugees are. The goal is to involve people who may not understand the process – show them in a way that they can embrace it. We thought doing short films really gets the message across.”
The filmmakers are: Kevin Kerwin with “The Interpreter;” Chelsie Corso with “Just Keep Going;” Chris Langer with “Rangers United;” Paul Sobota with “Alida;” and Robert Banks with “Ashmita.”
Now the films will be shown at various community centers, film festivals, churches, universities and other public venues. Locations and time will be announced on the RSC website. Four of the five films can be viewed on YouTube.
Councilman Joe declared June 20 as World Refugee Day on behalf of the Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.
From 2000-2012, 4,518 refugees resettled in Cleveland, according to a report prepared in 2012 for the Refugee Services Collaborative (RSC). And the number is growing. So, to celebrate and educate the Cleveland community on the city’s refugee population, five local filmmakers produced short documentary films about refugee life before and after Cleveland.
Those films were shown for the first time on Saturday, June 20 at the Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood. About 120 community leaders, advocates, refugees, business owners and volunteers gathered to watch the films, as some of the filmmakers introduced them.
“It’s going represent a broad swatch of who the refugees are, the different ethnicities and nationalities they represent, and what’s changed after they got to Cleveland,” explains Tom Mrosko, director of Cleveland Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services. “The RSC tried to invite people who aren’t as familiar with the Collaborative or people coming to the community.”
The films are meant to educate people on the 70,000 refugees who resettle in the United States each year. “They come to almost every state in the country and they want to fit in and they want to better themselves,” says Mrosko. “It really comes down to lack of understanding of who refugees are. The goal is to involve people who may not understand the process – show them in a way that they can embrace it. We thought doing short films really gets the message across.”
The filmmakers are: Kevin Kerwin with “The Interpreter;” Chelsie Corso with “Just Keep Going;” Chris Langer with “Rangers United;” Paul Sobota with “Alida;” and Robert Banks with “Ashmita.”
Now the films will be shown at various community centers, film festivals, churches, universities and other public venues. Locations and time will be announced on the RSC website. Four of the five films can be viewed on YouTube.
Councilman Joe declared June 20 as World Refugee Day on behalf of the Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson.
Christine Howey, a local theater critic, poet and actor, decided to live as the woman she knew she was when transgender individuals were not so visible.
Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights and Lakewood are on the forefront of using the CDC model.